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TAROM Flight 371

From Alfawiki
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article TAROM Flight 371, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 20252 sources
TAROM
IndustryAirline
Founded1954
Headquarters
Bucharest
,
Romania
ProductsAir transport services

TAROM Flight 371 was an international passenger service operated by TAROM, Romania’s national airline, utilizing an Airbus A310 on a route from Bucharest’s Otopeni International Airport to Brussels Airport in Belgium. On 31 March 1995, the Airbus A310-324 with registration YR-LCC entered a steep nose-down dive shortly after departure and crashed near Balotești, Romania, resulting in the fatalities of all 60 passengers and crew members aboard.

The inquiry determined that a malfunctioning auto-throttle caused the left engine to reduce power to idle during the climb phase, coinciding with the captain becoming incapacitated, likely due to a heart attack. The First Officer attempted to handle the emergency but reportedly confused the aircraft’s Attitude Direction Indicator (ADI) with instruments from Soviet-built aircraft he had previously operated, as noted by the French BEA. This accident stands as the deadliest in TAROM’s operational history.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A310-324, bearing registration YR-LCC and named Muntenia after a Romanian region. Its Manufacturer’s Serial Number (MSN) was 450, and it first flew in 1987. Originally delivered to Pan American World Airways as N814PA Clipper Liberty Bell, it was transferred to Delta Air Lines following Pan Am's bankruptcy in 1991. TAROM purchased the aircraft in April 1994 and re-registered it as YR-LCC. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4152 turbofan engines and had accumulated 31,092 flight hours along with 6,216 flight cycles. The airworthiness certificate for this aircraft had been issued on 13 April 1994.

Passengers and crew

Onboard were 49 passengers and 11 crew members. The passenger manifest included 32 Belgian nationals, nine Romanians, three Americans, two Spaniards, and one individual each from France, Thailand, and the Netherlands.

Nationality breakdown of passengers and crew
Country Passengers Crew Total
Belgium 32 0 32
Romania 9 11 20
United States 3 0 3
Spain 2 2
France 1 1
Netherlands 1 1
Thailand 1 1
Total 49 11 60

Captain Liviu Bătănoiu, aged 48, possessed a total flying experience of 14,312 hours, including 1,735 hours on the Airbus A310. He graduated from the Aurel Vlaicu Military Aviation School in 1969 and had last undergone training on the A310 simulator at Swissair’s Zurich facility in November 1994.

First Officer Ionel Stoi was 51 years old with a total of 8,988 flight hours, including 650 hours on the A310. This aircraft represented his initial exposure to Western-style Attitude Direction Indicators, differing significantly from those found on Soviet-built airplanes he previously operated. He also graduated from the same military aviation school in 1968 and completed his latest simulator training on the A310 at Swissair Zurich in September 1994.

Accident

Flight 371 departed at 09:06:44 local time (06:06:44 UTC) from runway 08R with First Officer Stoi serving as pilot flying. The crew was aware of an existing issue with the thrust levers; Captain Bătănoiu indicated he would monitor throttle control during climb. After Stoi requested retraction of flaps and slats, Bătănoiu retracted only the flaps but failed to retract the slats. When Stoi questioned this omission, Bătănoiu expressed feeling unwell, groaned audibly, and then lost consciousness. Concurrently, the left engine’s thrust automatically reduced to idle while the right engine maintained climb power, creating asymmetric thrust. The aircraft’s speed diminished as it banked sharply to the left. Focused on attempting to rouse Bătănoiu, Stoi did not detect the increasing left bank.

At 09:08:18, thrust asymmetry reached its maximum at 0.42 while the aircraft banked severely left at approximately 45 degrees. Stoi instinctively tried to activate autopilot but disengaged it moments later amid warning signals; subsequently, the airplane began descending rapidly. Flight 371 entered a dive with continuous reduction of thrust on Engine No. 2 while rolling as airspeed increased. Due to his unfamiliarity with Western ADIs combined with dense cloud cover, Stoi was unable to determine the direction of bank or execute corrective maneuvers. Observing Engine No. 1 Pressure Ratio (EPR) dropping to 0.95, he exclaimed that one engine had failed. The aircraft pitched down at an angle near -61.5 degrees before crashing violently near Balotești at 09:08:34—just 89 seconds after takeoff and only 27 seconds following Captain Bătănoiu’s incapacitation. The impact instantly destroyed the airplane; a significant quantity of JET-A1 fuel ignited upon crash, causing fatality for everyone onboard.

Attempts by Bucharest control tower to establish contact were unsuccessful; they sought assistance from other nearby flights and TAROM dispatchers before declaring a "distress phase." Search and rescue teams located the wreckage site characterized by a large crater in an open field.

Technical investigation

The inquiry revealed an issue with the automatic throttle system (ATS), responsible for regulating engine throttles. According to the aircraft’s maintenance log, engine number 1 would unexpectedly drop to idle during the transition from takeoff to climb power, for reasons that remained unclear. Although maintenance crews managed a temporary fix, the problem reappeared on 16 March 1995, prompting ground personnel to caution about its potential recurrence. FAA documentation indicated a similar malfunction had occurred during the aircraft’s service with Delta Air Lines, where comparable repairs were conducted.

Airbus confirmed that the ATS defect could result in throttle jamming or cause one throttle lever to fall to idle while the other stayed above climb power if the ATS was not disengaged. Investigators linked this malfunction to excessive friction within the linkages connecting the throttle controls and ATS coupling units. At the time of the accident, Airbus’s Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM) did not include guidance for handling this specific fault; however, FCOM versions issued by TAROM and Swissair contained such procedures. Additionally, cockpit voice recordings suggested that Captain Bătănoiu experienced a medical issue during the flight.[1][2]

Criminal investigation

In March 1995, the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal commenced a criminal probe into the crash. Due to jurisdictional reasons, the case was transferred in 1997 to the Prosecutor's Office affiliated with the Bucharest Court of Appeal. The investigation has yet to reach a conclusion, and in 2008, Prosecutor General Laura Codruța Kövesi disclosed that all case files had been completely lost.

Memorials

A memorial has been erected near the accident location to honor those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

In popular culture

The incident was dramatized in 2019 in episode 6 of season 19 of Mayday / Air Crash Investigation, titled "Fatal Climb," which aired on 24 January 2019.

See also

External links

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named AIC
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named airdisaster.com

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